Dezeen Magazine

Hundred Acre Wood house resembles object "eroded by the weather"

A castle-like house by London studio Denizen Works that is vying for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award is the focus of this video, produced by Stephenson&.

The short film is the first in a series being published by Dezeen this month with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) to spotlight the award's 2023 shortlist.

Stephenson& captured the monolithic, sculpted form of Hundred Acre Wood and how it sits within its dramatic surroundings while also offering a glimpse of its spacious interior.

Exterior of Hundred Acre Wood by Denizen Works
Hundred Acre Wood is vying for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award

Throughout, Denizen Works founder Murray Kerr explained how his studio came to develop "the language of the building" from a blank canvas by following sun and wind patterns.

"We started to talk about, well, what if the house is almost a kind of found solid and then gets eroded by the weather," he said.

"Which is why the west elevation that faces the prevailing winds is much more kind of broken down and the rest of the house."

The Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award is held annually by RIAS to celebrate the works of Scottish architects. This year's winner will be announced on 30 November and receive a £10,000 cash prize.

Two university buildings – Campus Central at the University of Stirling and Laidlaw Music Centre at the University of St Andrews – are also vying for the title of Scotland's best building for 2023.

The final project on the four-strong shortlist is a house that incorporates a ruin, which was longlisted in the rural house category of the Dezeen Awards 2023.